𝐒𝐋𝐔𝐓! ʲ ᵇᵘʳʳᵒʷ

006. 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

"You can NOT be serious right now!" Shayla screams, throwing the remote against the wall. Fat, hot tears stream down my face as Kiara sobs on the television. "Turn it off, I can't," I choke, hiding my face in my hands. We decided to binge-watch Outer Banks since the new season came out. 

Easy to say that we are in shambles right now.

My phone rings on the coffee table. I lean over to silence it, wiping my face with the sleeve of my Bama sweatshirt. "This is torture," she whispers, her head buried in her hands. My phone buzzes again, causing Shayla to turn to me. "Silence, this is not the time Shiesty!"

I look at the unknown number, confused. "It's not Joe," I tell her, sliding my finger across the screen. "Hello?" I croak, my throat scratchy from yelling at the screen. "Hello, Ms. Bennett, this is Sam Blackburn with the Bengals, how are you today?"

My eyes widen and I immediately slap my roommate's arm. "What?" she asks, her eyebrows furrowed. I wave my hand around aggressively, signaling for her to cut the show off. "Hi, Mr. Blackburn, I'm well, and you?"

Shayla scurries off the couch to retrieve the remote. She hits pause, the device balled up in her fist. "Well, I'm doing good, thank you. I was just calling you let you know that you got the job and will be the Bengal's new in-house reporter."

I pump my fist into the air, biting my lip. "That's amazing news, thank you so much, sir."

A few papers shuffle on the other side of the line. "You will be receiving an email confirming all the details shortly. Come in tomorrow around 9, you'll fill out some paperwork and meet some others in the office. Since the seasons starting soon, you will probably start Monday. Don't worry, we'll have people to show you the ropes. Do you have any questions for me?"

"I don't think so." I try to suppress the grin that finds its way to my face. "Okay then. Welcome to the team, Talullah. See you tomorrow."

When he hangs up, I run to Shayla and hug her. "What, what?" she asks, her eyes wide. "I got the job!"

She squeals, hugging me back, and we begin jumping up and down. "Oh, Shay, thank you!"

She kisses my cheek, grinning. "I'm so happy for you! Now you get to come with me on the away games!" 

I smile, grabbing my phone from the couch. "I'm gonna go call Brock."

I slip out of the back door, sitting on the patio chair. I click on his contact, pressing the phone to my ear. It rings a few times before a familiar voice answers. "Hi, Tally!"

I smile. "Hi, Jen. How are you?" 

"I'm great! Want me to grab Brock?" 

"Yes, please."

After a little bit of shuffling, my cousins voice fills my ears. "Tally girl, how are you? Miss you."

I smile, tucking my knees into my chest. It's been so long since I've talked to Brock, and I can't contain my excitement. "I miss you too, and I'm okay. A lot's happened. But I wanted to tell you I'm working for the Bengals now."

"Whaat? The Bengals? No more Cowboys?" I can hear the surprise disguised as a joke. There's shouting in the background as I answer. "No, no more Cowboys. A friend from college let me move in with her. She works for them too and helped me a get a job. Oh, and Bandit died."